Data Warehouses and Data Mining

This article gives a detailed summary of the role of data warehouses and data mining, and their relationship to organizational databases. As you read, pay attention to how data warehouses are used to improve decision-making in organizations. Keep a summary in your notes of how an organization you are involved with could benefit from data mining and data warehousing.

Why Is Big Data Important?

The importance of big data doesn't revolve around how much data you have, but what you do with it. You can take data from any source and analyze it to find answers that enable

  • Cost reductions,
  • Time reductions,
  • New product development and optimized offerings,
  • Smart decision making.

When you combine big data with high-powered analytics, you can accomplish business-related tasks such as:

  • Determining root causes of failures, issues, and defects in nearly real time.
  • Generating coupons at the point of sale based on the customer's buying habits.
  • Recalculating entire risk portfolios in minutes.
  • Detecting fraudulent behavior before it affects your organization.